Elite Championship Eligibility

 

When I started this blog, I had no idea how much there was to write about. But I keep running into parts of the climbing sport that are a mystery to us parents.

Take this whole eligibility thing and earning points. To be eligible to compete in the North American Cup Series, a climber must now be 17 (as of 2025). See here:

As I have discovered,  the point system is used to determine a climber's eligibility for Open Nationals, which is now officially called Elite Nationals. Now, there are many ways to qualify, but the route Brendan is taking is through the North American Cup series.

According to the USA Climbing 2023 - 2024 Rule Book, the following chart will be used to award points for eligible events, including World Cups, North American Cup Series, and other pathways. (More on other pathways in a moment.)

If your climber does an eligible event, check THIS page and select the following to find out their rankings and points:

It will bring you to a Google document that is updated after every eligible event:

The other pathways to Elite Nationals include spots in several Youth categories. They haven't been determined at the time of this writing since Youth Nationals has not happened yet. See below...

Once your climber has qualified either in the top 100 eligible ranked spots or through the other pathways of qualification, they are invited to the YETI Elite National event in mid-October. 

Well, that's it so far. I will write another post on Open Nationals if we reach the next level. For now...                    

Don't forget to check out your climber's stats at the Competition Database HERE.

                        CLIMB ON!

BIPOC and other specialty climbing groups

Instagram is an amazing thing. Just when I think I'm all alone in my ideas, I find someone else on social media doing the same things I am. Climbing can be intimidating and it is well known to lack diversity of all kinds. That, thankfully, is changing, but not as fast as I would like. 

But why is this? Again, my ignorance as to why the sport looks the way it does made me want to know more. The reason stems back to our national history. Here is an article if you are interested in the history of climbing and how it had limited access for BIPOC people and other groups.

Amazingly, you can find just about any type of climbing group on Instagram. It can be really intimidating when you are the only person of color/orientation/disability in a gym and you don't know anyone to ask for help. Many groups have meet-ups specifically to help new climbers access and learn the knowledge of climbing. I can't wait to meet up with the folks in Fort Collins when I visit Brendan at CSU!

                        CLIMB ON!

Check out these groups on Instagram!

Climbers of color

Cruxing in Color

Climbing 4 Change - Kai Lightner

Bipoc Mountain Collective

Bipoc Beta

Ladies climbing coalition 

Kinship Climbing Collective

Co Black Packers

Trail Mixed Collective

Melanin Basecamp

Brown Girls Climb

Brown Girl Outdoor World

Color The Trails

Black girls trekking 

Black_people_hike

Outdoor Asian

Asian vibes in Denver

Outdoor Asian Colorado

Latin Outdoors Colorado

Front Range Queer Climbers

Queer Climbers Network

Every BD climbs

NACS - Go Pro Games: Vail, Colorado

 

Since we found ourselves in Colorado for orientation at Colorado State University, Brendan and a friend decided to head over to Vail and compete in the NACS - Go Pro Games competition in Bouldering. 

This competition was in the red point format. There were eight problems and all competitors had to stand in a line for the chance at each. Two competition rounds lasted three hours. Session one was more popular with 125 competitors. Round two had about 80. Brendan chose the first session, but it was cooler during the second session. However, there was less chalk on the holds during the first session. All athletes get a goodie bag and entrance to the Athlete lounge with two tickets they are provided, so be sure your climber doesn't lose them. The goodie bag is pretty 'sick' as any climber would say.

As for as advancement, here are the requirements in a NACS setting:

• Top 24 climbers from the Quals go on to Semis
• Top 8 climbers from Semis move on to Finals

Spectating for the audience was brutal but with pictures of the event, I had a feeling it would be. The stage is set up at 8,200 feet at the base of a mountain right next to Gondola One. There is no cover and the sun is brutal. And there are occasional rain showers that come out of nowhere with the sun returning shortly afterwards. So be sure to bring sunscreen, a big umbrella if you can, a lawn chair, and a jacket. I brought lunches in an insulated lunch box that lasted all day. Water bottles can be refilled in the restroom building directly behind the lawn. UPDATE: if you watch finals or plan to be in town after the sun sets, dress warmly! I was so cold, that I had to watch finals on YouTube. (*Smacks forehead*) The mountain can have wildly fluctuating weather (finals got pushed back two hours due to thunderstorms). Next time I'm going to have 2 outfits in the car; hot and cold/rainy!

Parking is interesting... All parking structures are free during the Games but getting a spot takes some effort. A good game plan is to come early in the morning and stay all day. The Vail Parking Structure is the closest to all the events but fills up quickly. There is an additional garage on the other side of the resort called the Lions Head Parking Structure. How to find them? Put ‘Vail Parking Structure’ into your Apple Maps and it will take you right there! Love Apple Maps…sorry Google.

Now for accommodations...We stayed in a cute little town called Minturn, but I think next time, I am going to look for something in Avon. There are way more amenities there. But Minturn was very artsy and picturesque. It is at the base of a couple small peaks next to the Eagle River...very scenic.

Lastly, the elevation is a killer. Sitting at the venue next to Gondola One is exactly 8,200 feet. I started to get a headache while in Fort Collins but it only intensified when I got to Vail. After a couple of days, it subsided but the altitude will get your attention. Drink lots of water and take it easy. There are plenty of people selling remedies and oxygen but it will get better on its own with some Tylenol and if you pace yourself. Brendan did feel its effects while competing, but he will be moving here soon for college, so looking forward to next year!

                CLIMB ON!

Climbing trips for solo women

All this talk of climbing has prompted me to make some climbing goals of my own. I mean, I have been watching the sport for the last eight years. I would like to see what all the fun is about. Now I am still climbing with the CCM ladies and having a good time. But I promised Brendan that I would be lead-belay certified by the time he graduates from college. LOL!

So lately I have been running into a lot of women's climbing tour companies on Instagram and I decided to look into them. I love our son, but climbing with him is intimidating for me and my husband has no interest in propelling himself up a wall. I was pleasantly surprised to find several tour groups that cater to the solo female traveler who wants to hike or climb or both.

Here are some of the groups I found. I really like She Moves Mountains. If I go on a trip with them, I will come back here and post an update. They have a lot of great-looking trips both for beginners and experienced climbers. And they have domestic and international trips, (France is calling me...)

Stay tuned and...

        CLIMB ON!

Into the woods Ak

She Moves Mountains

Ladies Climbing Coalition

American Alpine Institute 

On Instagram:

East Outdoors

Travel Insurance

As you can see from my Tripit homepage, (see my post on must-have travel apps), we have a lot of trips coming up as well as in the past. I would be remiss if I didn't comment on travel insurance.

Now, everyone knows about the insurance offers you get bugged about every time you buy a plane ticket or rent a car. But here's a better idea: skip all those and get year-long travel insurance covering everything. There are a couple of companies that offer long-term travel insurance, so do your homework and figure out what you can afford. Why do you need travel insurance? Because things happen and your plans change. The weather can ruin flights, you could get sick or injured far from home, travel delays can leave you stranded or you may need help right away.

I was contemplating this last January since I figured the first of the new year would be a good time to open a policy. I was glad I did because our next trip to Portland got canceled due to a bad storm on the West Coast. I had booked a non-refundable hotel through Alaska Airlines that I could not cancel. I was able to open a claim on my new insurance and they paid me back. I also had baggage damage on another trip that I was able to get reimbursed for (that story will be for another post after I have fully recovered from the experience...)

I chose to go with Allianz. They have several levels of year-long coverage and I picked the one I could afford that gave us the most coverage. It has trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical, baggage loss or delay, rental car coverage, emergency transport, and more. As I said, I have already used it twice. It has definitely paid for itself. Allianz has a great resource on their site. Here is an article on how travel insurance works and how it does not. I cannot recommend insurance enough, especially if your climber is doing a lot of traveling. Safe travels!

    CLIMB ON!

Photo credit: @permafrostpictures.photography

 

Rental cars

 Needless to say that with all these trips, I have finally figured out how to not screw up the rental car process. Now, I have developed my own system. You will figure out yours. First, I am determined to not pay full price for a rental car, so I always go through some sort of agency to book them. I used to use Expedia-AARP, (yes, we are old parents, so I take whatever bonus from that I can find.) 

But now, I use the Alaska Airlines car booking agency. I also book all of our hotels through Alaska and rack up as many miles as possible. While I am on the topic, Alaska also has a rewards shopping mall, where you can go to your favorite store, buy an item and get miles for it on Alaska. But I digress...

Alaska Airlines is partnered with Budget and Avis, so you log in with your mileage number, you automatically get the deal prices. I have to say, Avis is a bit more expensive than Budget but nicer in a few ways. Our last trip was on Avis, and I was pleasantly surprised to open the Avis app on my phone and see the spot number of our car that was ready. That was awesome! Keys were in it and off we went. Return is the same way, no hassle.

Budget on the other hand has something called Fastbreak. Trust me: sign up for this ahead of time AND remember you signed up/what your membership number is. We got to Philadelphia and the line to check in for a car was 1.5 hours long! And all the while, I had Fastbreak and could have skipped that line. (*smacks forehead*) Sometimes, when you get to the Budget drop-off, usually from a shuttle, or in the lobby, there is usually a line designated as Fastbreak. GET IN THAT LINE. Or pay attention during the shuttle ride. Sometimes FastBreak is its own stop before the bus gets to the main building. Yell loudly you have a fast Break and need to get off! 🤣😜 The line will be super short, or your name is on a board with a lot number.  Your car will either be waiting for you or you can pick the car you want. Now I have had bad experiences with Budget in some cities. It just depends on the local ownership.

Enterprise tends to be more expensive than Avis or Budget, but they do a great job with the whole experience. They have a motto where they say they will pick you up for your rental. I have used this several times for car problems but not at the airport. Sometimes I get an enterprise car but not that often.

I have included Payless because they too come up on the Alaska choices. They do have something called Pay Now on their direct site which allows you to pay at the time of the booking and save 20% off normal rental rates. I haven't used this company but it is an interesting concept. But again, I always go through Alaska Airlines.

The nice thing about Alaska reservations for cars is that you do not pay at the time of booking. This is great because if plans change, I can cancel with no fees. I usually pick up 1,500 to 2,500 miles for booking a car through the Alaska Airlines car program. Even up to 4,000 miles for a hotel. Every little bit helps!

As to what cars to get, that is a personal choice but have you noticed that they always seem to give you cars low to the ground? Brendan is 5’10 so I try not to get compact cars but we still end up climbing into cars to sit on the ground. If a minivan pops up as an option, I try to grab that. We bring a lot of stuff for comps so it’s nice to have the room. My favorite is the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Great on gas! But I could never figure out when the car was on…🤔. UPDATE: there is a light on the ignition button that says RUN and OFF. Never saw it before…

When you do get to your car, be sure to do a thorough walk around the vehicle. Take a picture of any dings or problems that are already there. Get in it and make sure everything works. When you drive out of the lot, be sure to tell get gate agent what you found so you are not accused of any damage. The last question you should ask (and I always forget) is if there are any tolls in the area and if your car comes with an electronic pass such as EZpass. Rental car companies can charge up to $20 a day for toll coverage, so if you need it, get it, but if not, avoid all tolls. When you set your Apple Maps (sorry Google), be sure to hit the button that says 'avoid tolls' and you will be fine. Just leave extra time if there is traffic.

I just have to make sure whatever car I get has CarPlay and the right plug for my phone (I always bring adapters just in case). I was in heaven when one car had WIRELESS Car Play...Again, Apple Maps is a must or I go crazy...

UPDATE: and NEVER get a pickup truck as a rental in Seattle!!! OMG, NEVER AGAIN!

UPDATE: I am renting a Tesla for the first time next year...we will see...I watched a bunch of videos to prepare because the learning curve is steep! 😱

    CLIMB ON!

Photo credit: @permafrostpictures.photography

NACS- North American Cup Series- Salt Lake City

This year Brendan and some friends decided to try their hand at the North American Cup Series (NACS) at the USA Climbing Training Facility in Salt Lake City, UT. This is an elite-level competition that is designed to prepare up-and-coming climbers for the upper-level competitions. A sort of mid-level between Youth Nationals and the World Cup series. Having never done this type of comp before, here are some things to keep in mind.

First off, to compete in a NACS event, a competitor must be turning 16 within the current season (before 1/1/25 at the time of this writing or the next year). They must also have an elite/youth series membership. That said, basically, anyone can register for it. That is not really clear in the advertisements for this series. It looks so high-level that we didn't immediately think about doing it.

Next, the registration is open until the day before, so the running order is not published until late the day before. There are no times posted with the running order, so it is challenging to figure out exactly what time your climber will be climbing. Additionally, there is no running clock or buzzer posted anywhere. The only way to know when your climber is climbing is to look at who is on the wall. The technical meeting states: 

• Clock will not be visible to climber or spectators; climbing judge will notify competitor when time is done

• Climbers are responsible for reporting to their climb in order of the start list; Climbers are responsible for being ready to climb when the climber preceding them comes down.

There are also blue crosses to be aware of that tell when to clip in. The rules state:

• Some of the qualification routes have blue crosses. This means you must make your clip from the hold marked by the blue crosses.

If your climber is participating in the Lead event, then here are some things, you as a spectator, need to remember: This is held on the outdoor climbing wall, so be prepared with sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, lots of water, food for the day (there limited options nearby), and even a camping chair if you don't like sitting on the ground all day. There is no other provided seating. Also, bring a phone charger. Being outside, I didn't realize my phone was on full brightness due to the sun, and I ran out of power! 

Moving on to the Boulder category, the clock and buzzer returned. And since there were so many people, there were two identical versions of the 5 problems for two groups of athletes. So the comp was able to have double the climbers going simultaneously. 

As for spectating inside the Training Center (TC), be ready for any temperature. It is freezing in the TC right now, but if you are here during the summer, it can be extremely hot and humid. Also, if you are dropping a competitor for isolation (ISO) you won’t be able to enter the hall to watch until ISO closes. This meant I had to spend 45 minutes outside in the rain. Fortunately, I found a covered spot since I had no car. 

As for as advancement, here are the requirements in a NACS setting:

• Top 24 climbers from the Quals go on to Semis
• Top 8 climbers from Semis move on to Finals

And speaking of ISO, be ready for a long or short stay depending on where your climber is on the start list. Brendan had to spend 6 hours in ISO for this category. I sent him in with a ton of food at 7 am and he won’t climb until about 1 pm. (Time enough even for a nap!) The boulder category is pretty straightforward. 

Overall, this was a valuable experience for our climber. He will be back!

    CLIMB ON!